AFFDF Financial Assistance for Treatment of Serious Diseases to Non-Pensioner Ex-Servicemen (All Ranks)/Widows

What is the AFFDF serious-disease financial assistance scheme?

AFFDF Financial Assistance for Treatment of Serious Diseases is a medical-relief grant funded by the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) and administered by the Kendriya Sainik Board (KSB) under the Ministry of Defence. According to the Kendriya Sainik Board, the scheme helps non-pensioner ex-servicemen of all ranks and their widows meet the cost of treating specified serious diseases when they do not have access to the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) or Armed Forces medical facilities.

The Kendriya Sainik Board is the apex body of the Government of India that frames policies and schemes for the resettlement, welfare and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen and their dependents. The Armed Forces Flag Day Fund is one of the principal funds it manages, built largely from public contributions collected around Armed Forces Flag Day on 7 December each year.

Key features

• Reimburses a large share of the cost of treating listed serious diseases.
• Aimed specifically at non-pensioners, who fall outside ECHS cover.
• Routed through the district-level Zila Sainik Board, not a central office.
• Paid electronically by ECS into the beneficiary's bank account.

How much financial assistance does the AFFDF scheme provide?

According to the Kendriya Sainik Board, the grant is calculated as a percentage of approved medical expenses, and the percentage depends on rank:

• Non-pensioner officers and their widows: 75% of approved medical expenses.
• Non-pensioner other ranks and their widows: 90% of approved medical expenses.

The one-time ceiling is Rs 1,50,000. For diseases that need continuing treatment, specifically cancer and dialysis. The assistance is capped at Rs 75,000 per year. The exact amount sanctioned in any case depends on the approved bills and the recommendation of the Zila Sainik Board.

Which serious diseases are covered?

The Kendriya Sainik Board lists the following conditions as covered under the scheme:

• Cardiac procedures: angiography, angioplasty, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), open-heart surgery, heart valve replacement and pacemaker implant.
• Cerebral stroke.
• Prostate surgery.
• Joint replacement.
• Renal (kidney) failure and dialysis.
• Cancer.

If an ex-serviceman needs treatment for a serious disease that is not on this list, the application is referred to the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) for a decision. In other words, an unlisted condition is not automatically rejected, but it needs a specific medical recommendation.

Who is eligible for the AFFDF serious-disease grant?

You can apply if:

• You are a non-pensioner ex-serviceman of any rank, or the widow of one.
• You are not covered by ECHS or Armed Forces Medical Services facilities.
• You are being treated for one of the covered serious diseases (or an unlisted serious disease that can be referred to DGAFMS).
• Your case is recommended by your Zila Sainik Board.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a pensioner ex-serviceman with access to ECHS. This grant is for non-pensioners, and pensioners are expected to use ECHS cover.
• The medical cost has already been reimbursed by ECHS, AFMS, an insurer or any other source. The scheme requires a self-declaration that no prior reimbursement has been received.
• You are a serving member of the armed forces (this is an ex-servicemen scheme).

Because the grant is means-tested against your access to other medical cover, the Zila Sainik Board's scrutiny of your status is central to the decision.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the AFFDF serious-disease grant

There is no direct online citizen application for this grant. It is a paper-based, board-verified process routed through your district Zila Sainik Board. Follow these steps:

1. Contact your Zila Sainik Board (ZSB) in the district where you are registered as an ex-serviceman, and ask for the prescribed application form for AFFDF financial assistance for serious diseases.
2. Assemble your documents — discharge documents, ESM/widow identity card, original doctor-countersigned bills, hospital admission and discharge reports, the self-declaration on no prior reimbursement, and your bank details.
3. Submit the completed form with all documents to the ZSB. The Zila Sainik Welfare Officer (ZSWO) scrutinises the case and, if in order, records a recommendation.
4. The ZSB forwards the case to the Kendriya Sainik Board Secretariat, which examines it, sanctions the eligible amount and releases payment by ECS to your bank account.
5. Follow up with the ZSB for the status of sanction and payment.

Where to get help

Because the scheme is administered district by district, the first point of contact for any query, eligibility, forms, status of a pending case, is your Zila Sainik Board / Zila Sainik Welfare Office. The Kendriya Sainik Board does not publish a single national toll-free helpline dedicated to this grant, so be cautious of any number claiming to fast-track a sanction for a fee. No agent charge is payable at any stage; the grant is paid in full by ECS to the beneficiary's own account.

The Kendriya Sainik Board publishes scheme details on its official portal at ksb.gov.in, where the serious-disease grant appears under the list of AFFDF welfare schemes.

How to check your application status

This scheme has no online tracking portal or application ID system that a citizen can log into, so status checks are done directly through the office that is holding your file at that stage.

1. Start with your Zila Sainik Board (ZSB). Once you submit your form and documents, the file physically stays with the Zila Sainik Welfare Officer (ZSWO) until scrutiny is complete. Call or visit the ZSB office where you filed the application and quote your name, ex-servicemen/widow identity card number, and the date you submitted the case. The ZSWO's staff can tell you whether the case is still being scrutinised locally or has already been forwarded.

2. After forwarding, ask the ZSB for the forwarding reference or date. Once the ZSWO is satisfied the case is in order, it is sent to the Kendriya Sainik Board (KSB) Secretariat for sanction. Ask the ZSB for the date it forwarded your case and, if available, any dispatch or reference number, since the ZSB is usually better placed than the applicant to follow up with the KSB Secretariat on a case it has already sent.

3. For a case pending at KSB Secretariat level, follow up through the ZSB rather than approaching KSB directly, unless your ZSB specifically advises you to write to the Secretariat yourself. Sanction and disbursal decisions are made centrally, but routine applicant queries are meant to be routed through the district board that knows the case.

4. Watch your bank account for the ECS credit. Because payment is made electronically once sanctioned, a credit in your linked bank account (typically a PNB or SBI account) is often the first confirmation of approval. Keep your passbook or net-banking statement handy so you can match a credit to this specific claim, especially if you have other pending welfare claims with the same board.

5. If there is no update after a reasonable interval, a written follow-up (a simple letter or application) to the ZSB, referencing your submission date and documents, creates a paper trail and is more effective than repeated phone calls alone. Keep a photocopy of everything you submit, including this follow-up, since the original file will not be returned to you until the case is closed.

Because there is no centralised call centre or SMS-based tracking for this particular AFFDF grant, patience and a direct relationship with your ZSB's welfare staff are the practical way to track a pending claim.

Common reasons for rejection

Applicant is a pensioner with ECHS access. This grant exists specifically for non-pensioner ex-servicemen and widows who fall outside ECHS. A pensioner ex-serviceman, even one facing genuine financial hardship, is expected to use ECHS empanelled hospitals for treatment and is not eligible for this fund. If you are a pensioner, ask your ZSB about other AFFDF welfare grants meant for pensioners instead of applying under this scheme.

The cost has already been reimbursed elsewhere. The application requires a self-declaration that the medical expense has not been reimbursed by ECHS, Armed Forces Medical Services, an insurance company, or any other source. If any part of the bill has already been paid by another scheme or policy, that portion cannot also be claimed here. Fix: claim only the net expense that remains unreimbursed, and disclose any partial reimbursement rather than omitting it, since a discrepancy discovered later can void the entire claim.

Medical bills are not countersigned or are incomplete. Original bills must be countersigned by the treating doctor. Bills that are photocopies only, unsigned, or missing itemised heads (consultation, medicines, procedure, room charges) are commonly sent back for correction. Fix: before submission, get every original bill and receipt countersigned by the treating doctor and ensure the hospital's admission and discharge summary is attached alongside the bills, not just the payment receipts.

Disease or procedure is not clearly established as one of the covered conditions. The scheme lists specific conditions such as cardiac procedures, cerebral stroke, prostate surgery, joint replacement, renal failure/dialysis and cancer. If the hospital records do not clearly state the diagnosis in terms that map to one of these categories, the ZSB or KSB Secretariat may query the case or refer it to DGAFMS for a decision, which delays sanction. Fix: ask the treating doctor to state the diagnosis explicitly in the discharge summary, and if the condition is not on the standard list, be prepared for the case to take longer as it goes through the DGAFMS reference route rather than treating this as an automatic rejection.

Identity or service status cannot be verified. A missing or unclear discharge book, or an ESM/widow identity card that does not match the applicant's other documents, is a frequent cause of a case being sent back for clarification. Fix: submit a clear photocopy of the discharge documents and the identity card issued by the Zila Sainik Board, and make sure the name, service number and rank match across all documents in the file.

Bank details are incorrect or the account cannot receive ECS credit. Since disbursal is electronic, an inactive account, a mismatched IFSC code, or an account not in the applicant's own name can hold up payment even after sanction. Fix: provide current, verified bank account details with the correct IFSC, ideally for an active PNB or SBI account in the applicant's or widow's own name, and inform the ZSB promptly if you change banks or branches while the case is pending.

Application submitted without going through the Zila Sainik Board. Because there is no citizen-facing online application for this grant, a request sent directly to the Kendriya Sainik Board Secretariat, bypassing the district ZSB, is generally not the correct route and gets redirected. Fix: always route the application and all documents through your registered Zila Sainik Board first, and let the ZSWO's recommendation carry the case forward.